Upon hearing this, Chiang Xiao immediately took the money without any hesitation, and counted it right there on the spot.
It was a total of eighty yuan!
The folks from Wan Niu were poor to begin with; why else would they always resort to stealing chickens and dogs? And even tried to rob their things.
Now they were actually able to come up with eighty yuan for her?
No wonder Chiang Xiao was so surprised.
Yao Cong said, "There were so many people involved, each of them could contribute a little, and it adds up. Wan Niu himself brought out twenty yuan, and there were Sun Laoliu and others, who used their home’s grain as a substitute."
"Yeah, my uncle thought it would be more appropriate to directly exchange the grain for money to give to you since the rice had not been hulled and your family doesn’t have the manpower to deal with it. So he took the rice himself."
"This..." Chiang Xiao was very touched and looked at Yao Cong, "Thank you, Secretary Uncle, thank you, Yong Cong Brother."
She knew that without Secretary Yao and Yao Cong intervening, Wan Niu and the others would never have been able to pay this money, and even if they did, it certainly wouldn’t have been this much.
She owed Secretary Yao and Yao Cong a favor for this.
"You need this money right now, so don’t be polite with Yong Cong Brother. I haven’t been of much help to you before, and I do feel quite remorseful about that. Chiang Xiao, if you need anything in the future, remember to talk to Yong Cong Brother, okay?"
Chiang Xiao clutched the eighty yuan tightly and said once more, "Thank you, Yong Cong Brother."
"Alright, no need to be polite with me. Oh, Chiang Xiao, Captain Meng..."
Chiang Xiao paused when he suddenly mentioned Meng Xinian, "Hmm?"
"He doesn’t have any ulterior motives towards you, does he? Do you need Yong Cong Brother’s help?" Yao Cong looked at her.
What ulterior motives could Meng Xinian possibly have towards her?
And how did Yao Cong plan to help her?
Chiang Xiao quickly shook her head and said, "No need, Yong Cong Brother, he is just trying to help me, he definitely won’t have any ulterior motives." She suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly, "Besides, what is there about me for anyone to have ulterior motives?"
"You are good." Yao Cong patted her shoulder and hesitated for a moment but didn’t say anything further.
"Okay, you go back to the ward. Cong Weimin and I have something else to take care of, so we’ll be going. Aunt Juan locked the door at your house; if you go back, remember to get the keys from her."
Chiang Xiao quickly nodded, feeling a sense of relief in her heart.
They had left in a rush earlier, and the house hadn’t been locked, which had worried her at first. Now, knowing that Aunt Juan had locked the door for them, she immediately felt at ease.
Fortunately, there were still villagers in the village who could offer her a bit of warmth, otherwise she felt she might have completely turned cynical.
Yao Cong and Cong Weimin walked away, and Chiang Xiao stood there, looking at the eighty yuan in her hand, a smile appearing on her face.
This eighty yuan was an unexpected income.
Now she truly had a decent amount of money on hand. After a few more days of hard work, she would be able to go to the provincial city with peace of mind. She wanted to see the living standards of the people in the provincial city and look for opportunities to use her painting skills to earn money.
She didn’t wish to rely solely on foraging and hunting in Bai Gu Mountain.
Moreover, when Ge Dejun and Xu Linjiang became more experienced, she was planning to leave these tasks to them and wouldn’t take a share of the money anymore.
"What, did your Yong Cong Brother bring you some money?" A deep voice reached her ears.
Chiang Xiao looked up and saw Meng Xinian standing at the door, looking at her.